News and Events
Click here to read the CAS Spring 2008 Newsletter
SPRING QUARTER 2008
Africa Network, Center for Global Health Host Spring Tea
Ugandan Agriculturalists win 2008 International Alumnus Awards
Visiting Scholar Dr. Barbara Ngwenya
CAS promotes new global health courses
New Course, History of Islam in West Africa, to debut Autumn Quarter
Developed and taught by Dr. Ousman Kobo of the Department of History, this course will explore the relationship between identity politics and Islamic movements in West Africa. Using the decline of the Songhai Empire in sixteenth-century as the starting point, the course will examine the following questions: how does the struggle over religious purity reconfigure West African Islamic cultural and political landscapes? How does the diversity of the conception of religious purity contribute to the construction of religious, social and political identities? In what ways did West African Muslims confront European colonialism and subsequently Western modernity? The class will analyze how West African Muslims constructed their religious identities by localizing Islamic intellectual traditions, healing practices, music, arts, cultural norms and formal and informal religious festivals. By the end of the course, students will acquire the skills for analyzing the dialectical relationship between Islam and West African social, religious and cultural expressions, especially how Islam transformed and was transformed by indigenous religious knowledge, cultures and polity. Students will also be able to appreciate Islams common framework as well as its diversity and dynamics within that larger framework. Professor Kobo served as Visiting Assistant Professor of African history at Marquette University and Gettysburg College before joining the OSU History Department in 2006. His research and teaching interests include 20th century West African social and religious history as well as the social history of West African migrants in the United States. He is currently working on a book length manuscript titled, "Ambiguous Modernity: Islamic Reform in Ghana and Burkina Faso, 1950-2000." Kobo has received prestigious awards and grants to support his scholarly work including the MacArthur Fellowship for International Peace and the Boren Fellowship. The Center for African Studies helped fund the development of the course through a grant with the U.S. Department of Education. The course, History 594, will be taught Tuesdays and Thursdays in UH0056, from 2:30 - 4:18.
Africa Network, Center for Global Health Host Spring Tea
The Africa Network at OSU is sponsoring a Spring Tea, hosted by The Ohio State Health Sciences Center for Global Health. The featured speaker will be Ms. Barbara Campbell-Ker , Executive Director, Hospice Witwatersrand and Vice Chairperson, Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa. Following the presentation by Ms. Campbell-Ker, attendees are invited to view poster sessions and enjoy refreshments.
The Africa Network is sponsored by the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences in partnership with the Office of International Affairs and the Center for African Studies. Since 2005, this working conference has brought together people who have various interests in research, teaching (including study abroad, internships, and service learning activities), and outreach in Africa . The Africa Network, though its sharing of information and reflection on how interests intersect, increases the positive impact of efforts on the continent.
Parking is available in the Medical Center garages. Contact: wright.7@osu.edu or go to http://africanetwork.osu.edu.
Ugandan Agriculturalists win 2008 International Alumnus Awards
Two Ugandan scientists have been recognized for their excellence in agriculture by OSU. The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) director general Dr. Denis T. Kyetere and Makerere University's head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Dr. Bernard Bashaasha , are to receive their 2008 International Alumni Awards on March 1. Kyetere and Bashaasha received their doctorates from Ohio State University in 1995 and 1998, respectively, from the College of Food , Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (FAES). The news was announced in Uganda 's New Vision newspaper. Kyetere told reporters, “This is unbelievable. It is very good for Uganda and Africa since I am the chairman of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa , which is an advocacy organisation for resource mobilisation.”
Bashaasha added: “I am very excited. It is a challenge because we need to link academic success to modernisation of agriculture and overall improvement in the quality of life of our farmers since they are still the economic back-bone in Africa .”
Kyetere served as the acting NARO chief for over a year before being named Director General in 2006. “In this position, Denis has restored a system of good governance, transparency and accountability. “As a result, staff morale has risen”, the OSU nomination letter noted. It also noted that under Bashaasha's guidance, his department has seen an increase in doctorate degrees, graduate students, and growing partnerships with agribusinesses.
Kyetere's Ph.D. study was supported by the OSU-led, Manpower for Agricultural Development Project. Bashaasha's Ph.D. study was supported by the OSU-led, World-Bank financed, Agricultural Training and Research Project. Since returning to Uganda , both Kyetere and Bashaasha have maintained their ties to OSU. At Makerere University , Dr. Bashaasha serves as the Uganda country host and gives a lecture to students taking part in the OSU Uganda Study Abroad program, led by OSU Professor David Kraybill. At NARO, Dr. Kyetere has collaborated with OSU faculty on an OSU- led Integrated Pest Management CRSP program in Uganda . He has also facilitated collaborative links with other OSU-led projects, including the East Africa Regional Integrated Pest Management Program, the Sorghum and Millet CRSP, and the Higher Education Partnerships for African Development project (HEPAD).
Dr. Bashasha will give a talk on capacity building in African universities on February 29 th as part of the CAS lecture series.
African Wetland Social Scientist Visits Olentangy River Wetland Research Park
Barbara N. Ngwenya, Ph.D., is a visiting scholar and wetland social scientist at the Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park , School of Environment and Natural Resources, at The Ohio State University for December 2007 through July 2008. Barbara is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Research Training Unit at the Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre (HOORC), Maun , Botswana , where she has been since 2002. She has been affiliated with University of Botswana since 1991. Barbara received her Ph.D. in social work and social science at University of Michigan 's School of Social Work in 2000. Before that she had received a B.A. in Humanities at University of Botswana , (1982), a Masters of Social Work at the Maritime School of Social Work at Dalhousie University , Halifax , Nova Scotia (1990), and an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from University of Michigan (1998).
As an Applied Anthropologist, her research interest and publications are in rural livelihoods, HIV/AIDS, poverty and food security, indigenous knowledge and sustainable development, community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) and natural resources management. She has presented her research results around the world including Australia, Portugal, Italy, Thailand, Korea, Uganda, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, Canada, and USA . Barbara will be giving two formal back-to-back seminars while she is at The Ohio State University:
April 24, 2008 3:30 pm, 103 Kottman Hall, School of Environment and Natural Resources “An Overview of Research Opportunities and Challenges at the Okavango Research Center , University of Botswana ”
April 25, 2008 3:30 pm 244 Kottman Hall, Environmental Science Graduate Program: “Children Fishing for Survival in the Okavango Delta, Botswana ”
Barbara's office while at The Ohio State University is 130 Heffner Wetland Research and Education Building at the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park . Her email is bnngwenya@yahoo.com and her office phone number is 614-688-6402.
CAS promotes new global health courses
Two new global health courses will be taught through the College of Public Health in 2008, supported in part through CAS’s undergraduate Title VI grant. Introduction to Global Health will be taught Winter Quarter by Dr. Michele Shipp, a Research Assistant Professor in CPH’s Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion. Infectious Diseases in the Developing World will be taught Spring Quarter by Dr. Kurt Stevenson, MD, MPH, an associate professor of epidemiology at CPH as well as a faculty member in the Division of Infectious Diseases at OSU’s College of Medicine.
“My view of this course is to see experts in many different health fields speak to students on a regular basis,” Shipp said. “Global health issues are vast and varied, from HIV-AIDS to war and violence and the displacement of people”.
Many global health issues eventually become local in nature. Shipp pointed to the Somali population in Columbus, the second largest in the US after Minneapolis/St. Paul. The majority of Somalis settling in Franklin County are former refugees, some of whom spent many years in camps before coming to the U.S. Many face depression and stress-related problems. When exposed to the more sedentary lifestyle of the United States, they often develop diabetes, high blood pressure and other ailments.
“The world is getting smaller all of the time. We can go almost any place in the world in about 36 hours. Most infectious diseases can develop and be potentially contagious during this period of time,” Shipp said. “Health risks elsewhere could directly impact the well-being of our own communities.”
Stevenson’s global infectious diseases course will accompany a course in general infectious disease epidemiology already taught at CPH and taught by Stevenson. The global course will build on the principles of the general course but focus more on tropical infectious diseases and those unique to the developing world. It will also examine topics such as the role of poverty, malnutrition, and poor access to medical care on the risk for developing infections. Humanitarian relief efforts will also be addressed.
The Center for African Studies helped initiate and fund the new course development through its undergraduate Title VI grant, “Understanding Contemporary Africa: the Challenges of Health, Conflict, and Natural Resources”.
WINTER QUARTER 2007
CAS Winter Quarter Brown Bag Series
Somali Language Programs Continue at OSU
Peter Materu: Education for Economic Competitiveness
Dr Robert Agunga receives Fulbright
Juma addresses African higher education, biotechnology
Somali Studies International Conference brings critical issues to light
CAS Winter Brown Bag Series
The Center for African Studies has organized a series of lunch time presentations by Africanist faculty for Winter Quarter. Professors from Medicine, Music, Anthropology, African Studies, Agriculture, Art Education and Geography will briefly share some of the research in their field during these ‘brown bag' sessions, followed by time for discussion. The sessions will take place on Fridays, from noon – 1:00, in Oxley Hall 122. Students, staff, faculty and the general public are encouraged to take part. The schedule of the sessions is as follows:
| Jan 11th | Jesse Kwiek, OSUMC | "HIV/AIDS in Malawi" |
| Jan 18th | Daniel Avorgbedor, Music/AAAS | "Autochthonous Research and Biographical Evidence: Knowledge Construction, Interdisciplinarity, and Ethnomusicological Research in Africa with Focus on Religious- Ritual Traditions" |
| Jan 25th | Mark Moritz, Anthropology | "An alternative model of crop-livestock interactions in West Africa " |
| Feb 1st | Franco Barchiesi, AAAS | “Schooling Bodies to Hard Work”: The South African State 's Policy Discourse and its Moral Constructions of Welfare |
| Feb 8th | Richard Meyer, AEDE Professor Emeritus | Microfinance in Africa : Successes and Challenges |
| Feb 15th | Vesta Daniel | “Using Community-Based Art Education to Address Social Justice: an Evolving Project in Tshwane , South Africa ” |
| Feb 22nd | Kevin Cox | Migrant Labor in South Africa, Past and Present |
* All presentations are free and open to the public.
Somali Language Programs continue at OSU
A year from their debut at OSU, Somali language courses for students will continue in 2008. Taught by Instructor Abdulkadir Abdi, students who take Somali 102 will continue the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills begun in Autumn Quarter. There are also plans to offer Somali 103 and 104 simultaneously in Spring Quarter, making possible the completion of many OSU language requirements in one year. As the language of 40,000 Somali residents of Columbus , the study of Somali is attractive not only to students familiar with the community, but also to heritage speakers of the language who may have gaps in the formal knowledge of their mother tongue. “Many students were very excited that OSU now offers a Somali class that will not only fulfill their foreign language requirement, but also will serve as a learning process to their culture and country”, said Instructor Abdi. “Many students came here in their infancy, and don't know great deal about Somalia and the Somali language. It makes a lot of sense to offer this class as a starting point not only for the Somalis but for anyone who is interested in Somalia .” Somali 102 will be taught 4:30 – 5:18, Monday through Friday.
Somali instruction has also been long sought by teachers, social workers, health care providers and others in Columbus who live and work with Somalis. Autumn quarter saw the debut of a Continuing Education class in Somali, attended by 22 people, and taught by Instructor Abdulkadir Abdi. In addition to developing communication skills in the language, deepening students' understanding of the relationship between Somali language and culture is an important objective for Continuing Education students. A new Somali I class will again be offered on Thursdays, January 15 th – March 4 th , 7-9 for $174 on West Campus. A follow-up class, Somali II will also be offered Thursdays 7-9. Those interested should contact Kemba Nzinga at nzinga.1@osu.edu .
Peter Materu: Education for Economic Competitiveness
The development of Africa 's education sector and the new emphasis on tertiary education were the subjects of a talk by Dr. Peter Materu of the World Bank on November 15th. Speaking to a group of over 100 students, faculty and community members at the Hale Center , Materu revisited the traditional emphasis that the World Bank and other development institutions have placed on primary education in Africa . While the results of this focus have yielded encouraging results, with primary school completion rates increasing 20% from 2000 to 2005, enrollment at the secondary and tertiary levels continue to lag far behind the rest of the world. This translates into fewer researchers, patent applications and scientific publications, and correspondingly less scientific and economic engagement. Fortunately, there is growing consensus about the importance of tertiary education in national and international policy arenas. Materu discussed the challenges of access, quality, staffing, relevance, management, financing, connectivity, and brain drain, as well as promising developments in those areas. Finally, he outlined the World Bank's activities in higher education. Please click here to view Dr. Materu's PowerPoint presentation.
Dr Robert Agunga receives Fulbright
Dr. Robert Agunga is one of eight faculty members from The Ohio State University selected as a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright fellowship. Recipients are selected by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, which administers the program for the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Agunga, of the Department of Human and Community Resource Development, was awarded the Fulbright for "Lecturing and Research: Introduction to Development Communication; Assessing the Development Communication Program" at Bunda College of Agriculture, Blantyre, Malawi.
Juma addresses African higher education, biotechnology
Reflections on Higher Education in Africa is the theme of this quarters’ speaker series at CAS. On October 16th, Dr. Calestous Juma of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government gave several talks on the themes of economic development, biotechnology, and new policy directions in African higher education. Dr. Juma, a Kenyan national, is Professor of the Practice of International Development and Director of the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Dr. Juma acknowledged previous donor bias against ‘elitist’ higher education, to the sometimes exclusive focus on primary education. He also took issue with the common lament that the Green Revolution has somehow passed Africa by. Rather, he said, it is the absence of the land-grant model of higher learning institutions which has stymied development in Africa, the main obstacle to advancement of scientific development being the lack of collaboration between universities and research institutes in many countries. Postcolonial policies in many universities failed to encourage faculty to engage in research; while many research institutes fail to engage in teaching and other dissemination of their work. Leaders in a growing number of African countries, such as Malawi and Tanzania, however, are taking steps to formally integrate research, training, and extension. Others, as in Ghana, are allocating greater percentages of university funding to the sciences. China is seen as being particularly responsive to Africa’s new emphasis on scientific development. Their sponsorship of student exchange and investment in African institutions ($5bill for DRC engineering programs) currently outpace comparable US activity. Juma also mentioned the importance of ‘scientific literacy’ dissemination to popular level via radio, sometimes even in tandem with evangelistic Christian and Islamic programs. He also alluded to the phenomenon of ‘start-up’ universities in post-conflict zones such as Somaliland (Hargeisa University), which are developing programs that better integrate academics and practical, problem solving missions.
Dr. Juma’s presentation on biotechnology issues drew largely on his recent participation in an African Union report Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa’s Development, looking at issues related to GMOs and other emerging technology. Juma acknowledged the inherent challenges of advancing health and economic development, adding value a country’s natural resource base, and protecting the environment. The skepticism in Africa surrounding many biotechnology advances, however, stems largely from the failure to include African researchers and policy makers in their development. Policies which balance development and safety needs, invest in infrastructure, efficiently ‘prospect’ existing technologies from elsewhere, capitalize on regional technical specializations within the continent (Such as acknowledging Southern Africa’s expertise in medical technology, West Africa’s in crop, etc), and provide additional status and incentives to those in the scientific development community should be pursued.
Asked how to best build good partnerships, Juma said that committed bilateral arrangements between African universities and other partners (such as CRSP initiatives) are more likely to achieve positive results than traditional, multilateral research institutions (such as CGIAR). Evidence of legislative reform integrating the teaching and research functions of institutions of higher learning (Rwanda, Malawi) should be one criteria for developing partnerships. Such partnerships may also include such important but overlooked constituencies as Diaspora communities and returned peace corps volunteers. Finally, he stressed the need for American universities to have a genuine acceptance of the necessity of a global outlook.
Dr. Juma is a former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Founding Director of the African Centre for Technology Studies in Nairobi, and served as Chancellor of the University of Guyana. Professor Juma is co-chair of the African High-Level Panel on Modern Biotechnology of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Under the auspices of the African Union, he frequently works with African heads of state on the challenges and opportunities in these areas.
Somali Studies International Conference brings critical issues to light
Experts from around the world gathered on the Ohio State campus in August to explore the challenges and opportunities facing Somalia and its people. The discussions took place during the 10th annual Somali Studies International Conference, which was held Aug. 15 – 18. The conference brought more than 200 people to campus and was co-hosted by OSU’s Center for African Studies, Ohio University’s Institute for the African Child and the Somali Studies International Association. Jendayi E. Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, was the keynote speaker. She shared her insights into the critical issues facing Somalis in their war-torn region as well as in emerging Somali communities throughout the world. Ambassador Frazer has worked with the international community to support the deployment of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM); encourage inclusive dialogue between Somali stakeholders; provide development and humanitarian assistance to the Somali people; and continue efforts to combat violence and eliminate the terrorist threat in Somalia.
“The conference was a wonderful opportunity for people from around the world to share ideas and perspectives on Somalia and the Horn of Africa,” said Dr. David Kraybill, Director of the Center for African Studies. “The presentations covered a wide range of topics from cultural, economic and historical perspectives.”
More than 50 break-out sessions took place over the four-day conference and included panel discussions on a wide variety of issues of concern to Somalis in the homeland and in communities abroad. Panelists leading the discussion sessions included educators, leaders in business and government and social and human service professionals from central Ohio and around the world who are involved in working with and helping the Somali community.
Specific topics included:
- Somali Nationhood, Identity and Conflict Resolution
- Overcoming Conflict and Promoting Peace in Somalia
- Refugee Education, Cultural Barriers and Social Integration
- Somali Immigrants and Refugees in Ohio: Trends, Challenges and Services
- Transnational Remittance, Business and Commerce
- Media issues in Somali Studies
- Studies in Somali Language and Literature
 |